Seed Gathering Season 2017 - Tree Values

The Tree Council is calling on everyone everywhere to play their part in recognising and promoting the value of trees, whether they are in town or country. On 23rd September, we launch the start of the new tree year with Seed Gathering Season 2017. Over the next month, most trees will produce seeds and fruit that can be gathered in, potted up, sown and, with care, grown in to a tree. Everyone is being encouraged to either take part in one of the coordinated events and informal activities that are taking place all over the country, or even to go out for a walk and reflect on the value of trees in their own neighbourhood.

Our relationship with trees and their value to us, depends on where and how we engage with trees. Our first encounter with trees may have been in the backyard or the street we grew up in, or in the park playing with others. Our own personal histories, values and experience informs how we related to, and therefore value, trees. We may value a tree as 'the best tree to climb', or as 'the oldest oak', or for simply being 'my favourite tree' whilst for others, a tree or being amongst trees, is valued for 'the feelgood factor', or, 'spiritual wellbeing'.

'Anyone who values the trees in their street, park or fields can play their own part in passing it forward by collecting healthy seeds with a view to growing a young tree. In the right place, that seed will become not only a visual asset but also, a living, breathing part of the ecosystem that is the bedrock of life as we understand it' said Pauline Buchanan-Black, Director-General of The Tree Council.

'For too long, the value of trees in both economic and environmental terms has been understated' she continued, 'and Seed Gathering Season is the time to turn that around. Everyone with a place to plant can grow a seedling of their own and watch it develop into a tree for the next generation.'

'For anyone who wants to be sure that they are collecting the right things in the right places, there are planned events, run by The Tree Council's member organisations, its volunteer Tree Wardens and other supporters, taking place throughout the country.